4th Sunday of Easter 2020 (Good Shepherd Sunday)

Lion's Gate in Jerusalem

Herwig Reidlinger / CC BY-SA (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)

Every year, the Fourth Sunday of Easter is designated Good Shepherd Sunday. This is because the Gospel Readings are taken from chapter 10 of the Gospel of John. In this chapter, Jesus refers to his relationship with His followers as a shepherd with his sheep. It is in verses 11 and 14, which are read only in Year B of the Lectionary, that Jesus refers to Himself as the good shepherd. This year, being Year A, we read only the first ten verses.

I tell you most solemnly,
I am the gate of the sheepfold.
(Jn 10:7, The Jerusalem Bible)

Jesus begins talking about the sheepfold. Only the shepherd and the sheep enter the sheepfold legitimately. They enter through the gate. Remember that Jesus is talking to the Jews. Jews considered themselves the sheep belonging to God: For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. (Ps 95:7, Revised Standard Version). So, the Jews understood what Jesus was driving at. There was a place called the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem. It built at the time of Nehemiah (see Neh 3:1) and was present at the time of Jesus (see Jn 5:2) but is no longer present in Jerusalem today. This gate was one of the entrances to the temple precincts. (You can read an interesting blog post about the gate here.) The place where the sheep gather is the sheepfold. The place where the Jews gathered was the Temple; and the Temple was where God was. Later, Jesus would claim,  I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through me (Jn 14:6, The Jerusalem Bible)

I am the gate.
Anyone who enters through me will be safe:
he will go freely in and out
and be sure of finding pasture.
(Jn 10:9, The Jerusalem Bible)

This text is obviously meant for the sheep. The sheep which enter by the gate is safe. Those who enter by Jesus will be saved. This mirrors a verse in the Psalms: This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it. (Ps 118:20, Revised Standard Version) To be made righteous means to be made blameless: we are saved from our sins. Jesus saves us from our sins in His Passion, Death and Resurrection. Furthermore, we are sure of finding pasture, meaning that we would be provided for.

The thief comes
only to steal and kill and destroy.
I have come
so that they may have life
and have it to the full.
(Jn 10:10, The Jerusalem Bible)

This verse reveals further what it means to be safe and to find pasture. We will be given life and life to the full. To be safe means to be given life and to find pasture is to be provided with the means to have life to the full. Jesus does not just save us from our sins, He provides further help. To come to know Jesus and to follow Him is to enter into safety. When we are baptised, we make the commitment to enter by the gate that is Jesus. He also provides us with His Body and Blood as spiritual nourishment, and His mercy is given through the sacrament of reconciliation. The sacraments are given to us so that we may have life to the full.

In our present circumstances, Jesus does not seem to be fulfilling the words He proclaims. Our churches are closed and we are not able to receive the sacraments. The closure of our churches should not be seen just as a deprivation. We are not under a persecution. We are doing what is morally correct to help stop the spread of this new virus among us. I am sure that many know that wearing of the mask when we go outdoors is more about preventing us from potentially spreading the virus than about us potentially catching the virus. Many of us take things for granted. We take risks because we think things do not happen to us, it happens to other people. We wear the mask to protect ourselves, not realising that we might be already infected but asymptomatic. The whole rationale of staying home and wearing masks when we go outside is to minimise the possibility of us infecting others.

It is the same for our faith. We know that God loves us and takes care of us. We might treasure the sacraments but we forget the one who is providing them. We receive the eucharist every time we join in the Eucharistic celebration. Yet, do we treasure the one who provides us with His Body and Blood? Are we aware that the spiritual nourishment is also for evangelisation? Do we receive the eucharist as the food for our mission as evangelisers? Do we receive the sacrament worthily? Often, during the penitential rite at the beginning of the Mass, I realise how unworthy I am to be at the altar. Despite that, by the grace of God, the unworthy minister becomes the instrument whereby the Body and Blood of Christ is ministered to the faithful. I say often, because there are times when I am truly unworthy: I go through the motion of reciting the words and making the gestures and am not paying real attention to the mystery that I am celebrating.

Sometimes we go to confession because we are afraid for ourselves, not because we have experienced the mercy of God already in our lives. I used to be able to make my appointment with my confessor to make confession regularly. Now I realise how lightly I have taken this convenience. I am not able to visit him and make my confession these days. I am frustrated and anxious as I find myself not being able to minister normally as a priest. Yet, I do experience the presence of God when I preside at a funeral or to administer the sacrament of the sick at the hospital. God still provides me opportunities to function as a priest. Should I, then, be frustrated and anxious rather than being humble and trusting? Perhaps this temporary cessation of the sacraments may help us to appreciate the love that God has for us. May it help us to treasure every opportunity that we have to avail ourselves of the sacraments.

Being Good Shepherd Sunday, I must mention something about the priestly vocation. As the Body of Christ grows, the Church needs priests; not just priests but faithful priests. All priests start as seminarians. Men enter the seminary because they feel they are called by God. However, a call does not always mean that it will have a good end. Judas Iscariot was called by Jesus but see how he turned out! Even St. Peter, who was called by Jesus to a special vocation at Caesarea Philippi, did not do so well: he denied knowing Jesus. However, he also chose to remain faithful. He allowed the grace of God to enter into his heart to strengthen the parts of him that were weak. Many men are called by God to be priests, but how many choose to be faithful and obedient. We should always pray for our young men to courageously answer Yes and remain faithful to that yes. After entering the seminary, they need our prayers to continue to be faithful to God's call, not their own ideas of priesthood. After ordination, priests need the prayers of the people to help us remain faithful to God even when we are not totally faithful at times, for example, when priests demand service rather than serve; when priests lose their patience rather than being faithful at being the patient shepherds they are called to be; when priests decide that they know better rather than submitting to the authority of the Church, the same Church that Jesus promised would be guided by the Holy Spirit. Let us pray for more vocations and the strengthening of those vocations so that we may have more faithful priests to serve the whole Body of Christ, the Church.